Through Three Campaigns: A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti

  Chapter 18: A Night Surprise.

  With the exception of replenishing the supplies of ammunition,cleaning rifles, and burying the dead, nothing further was donethat afternoon. In the evening a consultation was held, in thefort, among the principal officers. The situation was a difficultone. An immense amount of ammunition had been expended, and it wasdecided that it was out of the question to draw upon the suppliesthat had been sent up for the garrison. There were still twostrongly-entrenched positions, and strong opposition wasanticipated to the clearing of the main road. Every round would,therefore, be required for this work. This seemed to preclude theidea of taking the other two stockades.

  The choice therefore remained of making the assault upon these, andthen returning through Pekki; or of leaving them and going back bythe main road, the route laid down in their instructions. Neitherof these plans was satisfactory, for each left half the programmeundone.

  It was suggested that a night attack might be attempted. In thatcase, not a shot must be fired, and the attack must be made by thebayonet alone. The moon rose early, and it was almost high at eighto'clock.

  Of course, it was extremely risky to venture upon such a plan, withsuperstitious black troops. The object of assault, however, couldbe located the next day, and the danger of losing their way wouldthereby be reduced to a minimum. Further, it was decided that nodependence, whatever, be placed on any native guide. Finally, itwould be eminently undesirable to leave Coomassie again in a stateof siege.

  It was clear that only one of the stockades could be carried inthis manner, as the other would be placed on its guard. It wastherefore decided that the one on the Accra-Coomassie road was themost suitable; first because it joined the main road to Cape Coast,and secondly because the capture of the stockade would isolate theremaining one on the Ejesu road, which the Ashantis would probablyabandon, as both the adjacent camps had fallen into our hands.

  As the result of this decision Captain Loch was sent out, at twelveo'clock on the following day, to reconnoitre the position. His men,by creeping through the tall grass and clambering among the talltrees, succeeded in reaching a large cotton tree within seventyyards of the enemy's entrenchment. Climbing this, they obtained agood view of the enemy's stockade and camp behind it.

  At that moment a roar of voices was heard, and hostile scoutspoured out from the camp. The object of the expedition, however,had been attained; and the soldiers retired rapidly, withoutcasualties.

  At five in the afternoon the officers assembled at ColonelBurroughs's quarters. Here the details of the work were explainedto them. They were to fall in at eight o'clock, and deliver theattack between nine and ten. The Maxims were to follow in rear ofthe infantry, and no other guns were to be taken.

  Only five hundred men were selected to go. Captain Loch's companywere to take the lead, as a reward for the scouting they had donein the morning. Major Melliss' company was to follow. The companiesin the rear were to move to the flanks, when the stockade had beentaken, so as to guard against an attack from the other war camp.

  An early meal was taken, and then the officers sallied out for alast inspection of the company; which was, by this time, assemblingoutside the fort gate. Silently the troops fell into their allottedposition. Then the word was passed down the line that all wasready. The officers gave their final orders to the men--no smoking,no talking, no noise, no firing, bayonet only. As if nothingunusual was occurring, the bugle from the fort sounded the lastpost.

  At the start the pace was for some time good but, after passingPrempeh's palace, the road became a tortuous track and, at everyyard, the tall grass became thicker and, here and there, a fallentree lay across the path. The dead silence that prevailed renderedevery one nervous. At last they came in sight of the great cottontree. Here all halted, and crouched down.

  Two leading companies formed up and were awaiting orders when,suddenly, two signal guns were fired and, instantly, the line oftimbers was lit up by a glare of fire, and a crashing volley ofslugs was poured in. Lieutenant Greer, who was in front of thecolumn, fell, seriously wounded. Then, with a shout of rage thatalmost drowned the order, "Charge!" they leapt to their feet anddashed forward.

  Nothing could stop the impetuous charge and, when they reached thestockade, they scaled it and poured headlong over it. In front ofthem was the war camp, through which ran a road, now crowded withthe panic-stricken defenders. As the enemy ran from their huts,they were cut down in numbers with swords and bayonets. The din wastremendous; yells, shouts, and groans rent the air. The path wasstrewn with corpses.

  The headlong race continued. Three villages had been passed, butthere was a fort behind. This also was carried. Then there was ahalt, on account of the exhaustion caused by the speed with whichall had run. There was no fear that the panic-stricken foe wouldrally; but there was the possibility of a counter attack, by theAshantis from the war camp to the left; for it was not known thatthe panic had spread to these, also, and that they too had fled indisorder, never to return.

  The four camps were burnt, one after another; the stockades pulleddown; and the force, still half mad with the excitement of thefight, marched back to the fort. The number of casualties was verysmall. Hardly one, indeed, had taken place, except those caused bythe first volley of the enemy.

  In one of the houses they entered, a child was found asleep. It hadbeen left behind, and had not been aroused by the noise. Terrifiedas it awoke, it clung to a white man for protection, and was takenby him to a place of safety.

  The force reached camp at eleven o'clock, having accomplished theirwork with a success altogether beyond expectation. At eight o'clocknext morning, the column paraded for its march down. All thewounded who were unfit for duty were left in the fort.

  Not long after the start, the scouts sighted another stockade. Thetroops formed up for the attack; but they found, to their surprise,that it was deserted. Both the stockade and the war camp behindwere destroyed, without opposition.

  Pressing forward they passed entrenchment after entrenchment, butall were deserted. River after river was forded, breast high, butno enemy was met with; although some of the entrenchments wereexceedingly formidable, and could not have been carried withoutvery heavy loss.

  The scouts captured a young girl, from whom valuable informationwas obtained. She had been sent out, like many of the other women,to get supplies for the army at Ejesu, where the queen mother was.It appeared that the queen had been greatly upset by the nightattack, and the capture of all the entrenchments; and had collectedall her chiefs to decide what had best be done, now that the siegeof Coomassie had been raised. Then it was understood why theadvance had not been opposed. But for this council, we should havefound every stockade occupied in force.

  The expedition pushed on, and arrived at Bekwai without having tofire a shot. The garrison there was formed up to receive and cheerthem and, what was still more appreciated, a ration of fresh meatand another round of medical comforts were served out.

  "Well, Bullen," Hallett said, the next morning, "here we are again.I wonder how long we shall get to rest our wearied bodies."

  "For my part," said Lisle, "I sha'n't be sorry when we are afootagain. It has been hard work, and there has been some toughfighting; but anything is better than being stuck in one of thesedreary towns. Fortunately we have both escaped bullets, and havemerely had a slight peppering of slugs and, as we have both beenput down in the reports as slightly wounded, on three occasions, wemay feel grateful, as it always does a fellow good to be mentionedin the casualty list; and it should help you to attain thatposition we spoke of, the other day, of commander-in-chief."

  "I renounce that dream utterly, and aspire to nothing higher thancolonel. It must really be an awful bore to be commander-in-chief.Fancy having to go down to your office every morning, and go intoall sorts of questions, and settle all sorts of business. No, Ithink that, when I get to be a colonel, my aspirations will besatisfied."

  "I don't know that I should care even about being a colo
nel,Hallett. Long before I get to that rank, I am sure that I shouldhave had quite enough of fighting to last for a lifetime, and wouldbe quite content to settle down in some little place at home."

  "And marry, of course. A fellow like you would be sure to be ableto pick up a wife with money. My thoughts don't incline that way. Ilook forward to the Rag as the conclusion of my career. There youmeet fellows you know, lie against each other about past campaigns,eat capital dinners, and have your rub of whist, regularly, of anevening."

  "But, my dear Hallett, think how you would fatten out under such aregime!"

  "Oh, hang the fat, Bullen; it would not matter one way or another,when you haven't got to do yourself up in uniform, and maketremendous marches, and so on. I should not want to walk, at all; Ishould have chambers somewhere close to the club, and could alwayscharter a hansom, when I wanted to go anywhere. Besides, fat iseminently respectable, in an elderly man."

  Lisle laughed merrily.

  "My dear Hallett, it is useless to look forward so far into thefuture. Let us content ourselves with the evils of today. In spiteof your grumbling, you know that you like the life and, if thebullets do but spare you, I have no doubt that you will be just asenergetic a soldier as you have shown yourself in this campaign;although I must admit that you have sometimes taken it out ingrumbling."

  "Well, it is very difficult to be energetic in this country. Ithink I could be enthusiastic, in anything like a decent climate,but this takes all the spirit out of one.

  "I think I could have struggled over the snow in the Tirah, as youdid. I can conceive myself wearing the D.S.O. in European war. Buthow can a man keep his pecker up when he is wet through all day,continually fording rivers, and exposed all the time to a peltingrain and, worse than all, seeing his friends going down one afteranother with this beastly fever, and feeling sure that his own turnwill come next?

  "I should not mind so much if we always had a dry hut to sleep in,but as often as not we have to sleep on the drenched ground in theopen and, consequently, get up in the morning more tired than whenwe lie down. I have no doubt that, after all this is over, I shallbecome a cripple from rheumatism, or be laid up with some otherdisorder."

  "I don't suppose you will do anything of the sort, Hallett. Ofcourse this fever is very trying but, although men are beingconstantly sent down to the coast, the number who die from it isnot great. Only some six or seven have succumbed. I expect myselfthat we shall both return to our regiments in the pink ofcondition, with our medals on our breasts, and proud of the factthat we have gone through one of the most perilous expeditions everachieved by British troops; and the more wonderful that, except fora handful of English officers and non-commissioned officers, it hasbeen carried through successfully by a purely native army.

  "I don't think we quite recognize, at present, what a big affair ithas been. We have marched through almost impenetrable bush; we havesuppressed a rebellion over a great extent of country, admirablyadapted for the mode of warfare of our enemies; and we have smashedup an army of well-armed natives, in numbers ranging from six, toten to one against us."

  "Yes, yes, I know all that; and I don't say that it has not been awell-managed business; and I dare say I shall look back on it withpleasure, some day, when I have forgotten all the miseries we havesuffered. Besides, though I do grumble, I hope we are not going tostick here long. I could do with a week of eating and drinking--thatwould be the outside. It is wretched enough tramping through swamps,but I think I should prefer that to a prolonged stay in this hole."

  "For once I agree with you thoroughly, Hallett. It is bad enough tomarch in West Africa, but it is worse to sit still. It is only whenyou try to do that, that you find how much you are pulled down; andthe longer you sit still, the less disposed you are to get up;whereas, on the march, you are so full of the idea that you may beambushed, at any moment, that you have no time to think of yourfatigues."

  "Yes, there is no doubt of that, Bullen; so I mean to spend all thetime I have to spare here on my back; and sleep, if I can,continuously."

  "Don't flatter yourself that you will be allowed to do that. Youmay be sure that they will find ample work for lazy hands to do.Now it is time to buckle on our swords, and go out and inspect ourfellows. I can see that they are mustering already."

  "I wish those white non-commissioned officers would not be sodisgustingly punctual," Hallett grumbled. "They are splendid whenit comes to fighting, but they never seem to know that there is atime for work and a time for play--or, at any rate, they never letothers play."

  "They are splendid fellows," Lisle said. "I really do not know whatwe should have done without them. There would be no talking oflying down and going to sleep, if they were not there to look afterthe men."

  "I don't think it would make any difference to you," Hallett said,"for it seems to me that you are always looking after your men."

  "So are you, Hallett. You are just as keen about getting yourcompany into order as I am, only you always try to look bored overit. It is a stupid plan, old man, for I don't think that you getthe kudos that you deserve."

  "My dear Bullen, you may argue forever, but if you think that youcan transform me into a bustling, hustling fellow like yourself, Ican tell you that you are mistaken. I know that I do what I have todo, and perhaps may not do it badly, but I don't go beyond that.

  "When they say 'Do this,' I do it; when they don't say so, I don'tdo it; and I fancy it comes to about the same thing, in the end."

  "I suppose it does," Lisle laughed, as they issued from their hut.

  "These poor fellows look as if they wanted a rest more than we do,don't they?"

  "They look horribly thin," Hallett said.

  "Yes, it is well that the blacks have such good spirits, and arealways ready to chatter and laugh when the day's work is over--thatis, if it has not been an exceptionally hard one.

  "Well, though I don't care about staying long here, myself, I dohope they will give the poor fellows time to get into conditionagain, before starting. I fear, however, that there is very littlechance of that."

  This, indeed, turned out to be the case. Two days later,reinforcements arrived from the coast, to increase the totalstrength available for punitive expeditions. Two strong partiesthen started, under Colonel Haverstock and Colonel Wilkinson. Theywere to travel by different routes, and to join hands in theneighbourhood of the sacred fetish lake, where large numbers ofAshantis and Kokofu were reported to have assembled. The Hausacompanies did not accompany them, the columns being largelycomposed of the newly-arrived troops--who were, of course, eager totake their share of the fighting.

  Lisle and Hallett did a little grumbling, but they really felt thatthey required a longer period of rest, and they could not helpcongratulating themselves when the columns returned, ten daysafter, without having exchanged more than a shot or two with theenemy.

  They found that the country round the lake was thickly inhabited.Many of the villages had been burnt and, in all cases, the sacredtrees had been cut down. It was quite clear that the spirit of theenemy was greatly broken, and that the end was approaching.

  "We must certainly congratulate ourselves upon having a comfortabletime of it, here," Lisle said, "instead of a ten days' tramp,without any great result. We can manage to keep ourselves dry inthis hut, now that our men have covered it thickly with palmleaves; whereas they have had to sleep in the open, pretty nearlyevery night."

  "It was good for them," Hallett said; "the fellows lookedaltogether too spick and span, when they marched in. It is just aswell that they should get a little experience of the work we havebeen doing, for months. I saw them, as they marched in, look withastonishment at the state of our men's garments--or rather, I maysay, their rags. They would have grown haughty, if they had not hada sample of the work; and their uniforms looked very different,when they came back, from what they were when they marched away.There is nothing like a fortnight's roughing it in the bush to takea man, whether white or black, a peg or two down in his own
estimation.

  "I was amused, the first day they arrived, when I saw their facesat the sight of their rations. It was quite a picture. Thankgoodness we have had nothing to grumble about, in that way, sincewe got our box from the coast. Chocolate for breakfast, brandy andwater at dinner, preserved meat, are quite a different thing fromthe stuff they manage to give us--two or three ounces of meat,about once a week. Those boxes of biscuits, too, have beeninvaluable. The ration biscuits were for the most part wet through,and there wasn't a wholesome crunch in a dozen of them. We havecertainly improved a lot in appearance, during the last fortnight;and I believe that it is due to the feeding, more than the rest."

  "It is due, no doubt, to both," Lisle said; "but certainly thefeeding has had a good deal to do with it."

  "Those tins of soup," said Hallett, "have been really splendid. Ibelieve I have gained seven or eight pounds in weight, in spite ofthis sweltering heat."

  "You have certainly filled out a bit. I was rather thinking ofasking you to hand over all the soups to me, so that you should notgain weight so fast."

  "That would have been a modest request, indeed, Bullen!"

  "It was a case of true friendship," Lisle laughed. "I know how youhave appreciated your loss of flesh."

  "You be blowed!" Hallett said. "If they would run to half a dozentins a day, I can tell you I would take them, whatever theconsequences."

  "Well, really, I do think, Hallett, those few cases have saved usfrom fever. I felt so utterly washed out, when we arrived here,that I began to think I was in for a bad attack."

  "Same here, Bullen. I fought against the feeling because I dreadedthat hospital tent and, still more, being carried down country."

  "Yes; we certainly did a clever thing, when we bought up everythingwe could, that day we were in Cape Coast. Our servants, too, haveturned out most satisfactory. Poor beggars! though the weather hasbeen so bad, there has scarcely been a night when they have notmanaged to make a little fire, and boil water either to mix withour tot of rum, or to make a cup of tea."

  "Yes, they have turned out uncommonly well. We must certainly makethem a handsome present, when this is all over. It was awfullylucky we brought up a good supply of tea with us, and condensedmilk. I am certain that the hot drink, at night, did wonders in theway of keeping off fevers."

  "That is so, Lisle; there is nothing that will keep the wet out, orat least prevent it from doing harm, like a cup of hot tea with theallowance of rum in it. I am sure I don't know what we should havedone, without it. That tea and milk were all that we could bring,especially as our carriers were cut down to one man, each."

  "That was your idea, Lisle, and I agree that it has been the savingof us. I was rather in favour of bringing spirits, myself; but Iquite admit, now, that it would have been a great mistake. Besides,half a dozen pounds of tea does not weigh more than a couple ofbottles of spirits; which would have been gone in four or fivedays, while the tea has held out for months. I never was much of atea drinker before. It is all very well to take a cup at anafternoon tea fight, but that was about the extent of my indulgencein the beverage. In future I shall become what is called a votary,and shall cut down my spirits to the narrowest limit."

  "That would be running to the opposite extreme, Hallett. Too muchtea is just as bad as too much spirits."

  "Ah! Well, I can breakfast with coffee or cocoa. The next time I goon the march, I shall take two or three pounds of cocoa in my box.Many a time I have longed for a cup, when we have started at threeo'clock in the morning, and have felt that it would be well worth aguinea a cup. Now I shall have the satisfaction of always startingwith a good warm drink, which is as good for hunger as thirst. Ihave often wondered how I could have been fool enough not to bringa supply with me."

  "Yes, it would have been very comforting," Lisle agreed; "we shallknow better, another time."

  "I trust that there will never be another time like this for me. Ishall be ready to volunteer for service in any part of the world,bar Western Africa. They say that the troops at the Cape are goingthrough a hard time, but I am convinced that it is child's play incomparison with our work here. Why, they have hours, and indeeddays, sometimes, without rain. Just think of that, my dear fellow!Just think of it! And when the rain does fall, it soon sinks intothe sandy soil and, if they lie down at night, they only get wet onone side, and have waterproof sheets to lie on. Just think of that!And yet, they actually consider that they are going throughhardships!

  "They say, too, that the commissariat arrangements are splendid.They get meat rations every day--every day, mind you--and I hearthey even get jam. It is enough to fill one with envy. I remember Iwas always fond of jam, as a boy. I can tell you that, when I getback to civilization, one of my first cries will be for jam. Fancyjam spread thickly on new bread!

  "And men who have all these luxuries think that they are roughingit! Certainly human ingratitude is appalling!"

  Lisle laughed.

  "But you must remember that there are compensations. We get a fightevery two or three days, while they have often to tramp two orthree hundred miles, without catching sight of an enemy at all."

  "There is certainly something in that," Hallett said. "I must admitthat that is a great consolation; and it is satisfactory, too, thatwhen we do fight we are fired at principally with slugs; which weboth know from experience are not pleasant customers, but at anyrate are a great improvement upon rifle bullets, pom poms, andshells of all sizes.

  "Yes, I don't even grudge them the jam, when I think how awful itmust be to be kept, for months, at some miserable little station onthe railway, guarding the roads. We get restless here at the end ofthree or four days, but fancy spending months at it!"

  "Besides, Hallett, in such places they get their rations regularly,and have nothing to do but to eat and get fat. If you were livingunder such conditions, you would be something awful at the end ofsix months of it."

  "There is a great deal in that," Hallett said, thoughtfully. "Yes;I don't know that, after all, the gains and advantages are not withus; and indeed, if we had our time to go over again, we could makeourselves fairly comfortable.

  "In the first place, I should purchase a large ground sheet, whichI might use as a tent. I would have a smaller one to lie upon, andthe biggest mackintosh that money could buy. Then, as you say, witha good supply of tea and chocolate, I could make myself extremelyhappy.

  "I cannot think why the authorities did not point out the necessityfor these things, before we started. They must have known it wasgoing to rain like old boots, all the time. I don't mean, ofcourse, the authorities at Cape Coast, because I don't suppose anyof these things could have been picked up there; but we should havebeen told, when we got our orders, that such things were essential.Really, the stupidity and thoughtlessness of the War Office arebeyond belief."

  "I should advise you to draw up a memorial to them, pointing outtheir want of thought and care; and suggesting that, in every room,there should be a printed reminder that mackintoshes and groundsheets are essential, in a campaign in Western Africa in the wetseason."

  "Yes, and cocoa and tea," Hallett said, with a laugh. "I shouldlike to hear the remarks of the War Office, when my communicationwas read. It would flutter the dove cot, and the very next steamerwould bring out an intimation that Lieutenant John Hallett'sservices were no longer required."

  "No doubt that would be the case, Hallett; but think what aninestimable service you would have done, in campaigning out here!"

  "That is all very well, Bullen, but I should recommend you to tryyour eloquence upon someone else. Perhaps you might find someone ofa more self-sacrificing nature who would take the matter in hand."

  "Perhaps I might, but I rather fancy that I should not. The onlyman who could do it is Willcocks. After the victories he has won,even the War Office could hardly have the face to retire him fromthe service for making such a suggestion. Besides, the public wouldnever stand it; and he is just the sort of fellow to carry out theidea, if he took to it."
/>
  "I agree with you, Bullen, as in the end I almost always do, andshould suggest most strongly that you lay the matter before him. Nodoubt, if he applied, the War Office would send out a hundredwaterproofs and two hundred ground sheets, for the use of theofficers, by the next ship sailing from England."

  "I might do it," Lisle laughed, "if it were not that the rainyseason will be at an end before the things arrive here."

  "That is a very good excuse, Bullen; but I hope that, at any rate,you will carry out your idea before the next wet seasonbegins--that is, if we are kept on here, as a punishment for oursins."

  At this moment one of the non-commissioned officers came in with aletter, and Hallett opened it.

  "Oh dear," he said, in a tone of deepest disgust, "we are offagain!"

  "Thank goodness!" Lisle said. "You know we were just agreeing thatwe have had enough of this place."

  "I often say foolish things," Hallett said, "and must not be takentoo literally. Here is an end to our meat rations, and to all ourother little luxuries. Besides, I have been getting my tunicwashed, and it will certainly take three or four days to dry inthis steaming atmosphere."

  "Well, my dear fellow, you can put it on wet, for it is certain tobe wet before we have gone a quarter of an hour. My tunic has gone,too, but at any rate they will both look more respectable for thewashing.

  "Well, I suppose we had better go across to headquarters and findout what the route is, and who are going."

  As they went out, they saw the return of the Central AfricanRegiment. They had been more fortunate than the other regiments,having captured and razed Djarchi. They had taken the enemy bysurprise, and run them right through the town, with only a singlecasualty. They had ascertained that the enemy had been commanded bythe brother of the Ashanti commander-in-chief, and that he had beenkilled in the fight.

  A very large amount of spoil had been captured, the first haul ofany importance that had been made during the campaign. Among theloot were the king of the Kokofu's iron boxes, containing muchofficial correspondence; union jacks, elephant tails, and othersymbols of royalty, together with gold ornaments, gold dust, andtwo hundred pounds of English money; numbers of brass-nailed,vellum-backed chairs, part of the Ashanti chief's regalia; robes,guns, ammunition, drums, and horns, and also sheep and poultry.

  A company was at once despatched to the Sacred Lake, to join MajorCramer's levies, which had been told off to act as locusts and eatup the country. Colonel Wilson was ordered to go to Accra, toreorganize and recruit the remnant of the Gold Coast Force; sothat, when the campaign was over, they could again take over themilitary control of the colony. It was also decided that Bekwaicould no longer be occupied, and that all the stores there shouldbe removed to Esumeja, as the whole main road up to Coomassie wouldshortly be open.

  At last all was in readiness for the general and final advance. Allthe Adansi country to the south, and Kokofu to the east had beenconquered, and the roads cleared. The next step was to clearNorthern Ashanti; neglecting altogether, for the present, theparties of the enemy between the southern boundaries of Ashantiterritory and their capital.

  It was therefore decided to move the whole of the headquartersstaff and the advance base to Coomassie, Esumeja being selected asthe point, between it and Kwisa, to be held in force. The generalplan was to send up all the stores, carriers, and troops via Pekki,as had been done on both previous occasions. This would reduce thechance of attack and loss to a minimum while, simultaneously, afighting column with the smallest possible transport would followthe road through Kokofu and take Ejesu, which was the residence ofthe queen mother, and the headquarters of the remnant of theAshanti army.

  The general opinion was that it would be the last fight of theyear. Colonel Brake, who was the last arrival, having had no chanceof a fight hitherto, was selected for the command. The whole forcewas to advance, and five thousand carriers were required to effectthe movement.

  There was general joy when it was known that Bekwai was to beevacuated. It was a dull, dirty place, surrounded by dense, darkforests, and was in a terribly insanitary state. Europeans wererapidly losing their strength, and an epidemic of smallpox wasraging among the natives, of whom a dozen or more died daily.

  On the 28th of August Colonel Burroughs left Bekwai, with sevenhundred and fifty men, and three thousand carriers takingammunition and baggage. The column was fully two miles long. Theyhad an extremely heavy march, and did not arrive at theirdestination till night. The carriers returned to Bekwai the nextday, so as to be ready to march out at daylight, on the 30th, withthe second column.

  The troops at Pekki being in enforced idleness, half of themmarched out to attack the enemy's war camp, which had for so longthreatened Pekki. The place was found to be evacuated, and it andthe bush camps on the way were all burnt.

  The second column had now well started. The downfall of raincontinued without intermission, and the roads became worse thanever. The day after the first column left Pekki, Colonel Brakestarted with eight hundred men and two guns.

  The news came in that the king of Akim had been asked, by a numberof the Kokofu, to intercede on their behalf for peace; and amessenger with a flag of truce came in from the Djarchi district.The appearance of the messenger was singular. He was completelyclad in white, even his skin being painted that colour, and hecarried an enormous white flag. He was well received, but was sentback with a message that the chiefs must come in themselves.

  On the 30th Colonel Willcocks arrived and, the next day, the wholeforce started in fighting formation for Coomassie, where theyarrived after twelve hours' march. The distance was only twelvemiles, so the condition of the roads may be well imagined by thetime the column took to traverse them.